It is known that in electric household appliances equipped with a refrigerated cell, such as refrigerators and freezers, the food to be conserved is normally placed on a number of shelves arranged at different heights inside the refrigerated cell. Some foods, especially fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables, or certain types of frozen food, are instead conserved in special compartments, usually equipped with extractable drawers. In order to be able to adjust the height position of the shelves, the refrigerated cell of a refrigerator (FIG. 1) is equipped, on the opposite side walls, with a number of support guides T for the shelves P, usually of a greater number than the available shelves P; in this way, the user can selectively position the shelves P at different heights, according to the volume occupied by the food to be conserved. Fresh foods are instead placed in a compartment C defined by an extractable drawer arranged to occupy the lower part of the refrigerated cell and a shelf P1 placed in a fixed position, immediately above the drawer. The compartment C therefore has fixed volume and shape.
When the user must put away a large amount of fresh food, occupying a greater volume than that of the compartment C, part of this food must therefore be stored on the shelves P, outside of the compartment C, with considerable drawbacks.
In the first place, fresh food stored outside of the compartment C can more easily deteriorate. Furthermore, its rational placing on the shelves P (often consisting of simple grills) is not easy and the food often moves following repeated accesses to the refrigerated cell or the removal and addition of other food. In consequence, fresh food kept outside of the compartment C is often left inside bags made of PP or PE, also to protect it from any moisture that may run down the walls of the refrigerated cell, as a result of repeated automatic defrosting for example, ultimately further deteriorating its conservation.